In harness racing, a race horse pulls a two-wheeled cart, or sulky, having a pair of shafts which are attached to a harness saddle circling the horse's body. A breast strap extending across the horse's chest and attached to the saddle or to the shafts by traces may also be used. As the horse runs, it rolls from side to side, i.e., its weight shifts from side to side. This motion is transmitted to the sulky, tending to cause the sulky to fish-tail, or zig-zag, on the track, and to waste the horse's energy.
A thimble over the end of each shaft and attached by a strap to the harness may be used to transmit the horse's motion to the sulky. A safety strap attached to the saddle and wrapped around the shaft is often used to ensure that the shafts do not become disconnected from the saddle. Both of these latter devices also contribute to the fish-tailing effect.
It is also desirable to reduce or eliminate skidding of the sulky on the tracks, which tends to occur when making a turn or changing lanes. The three connections referred to above create a barrier to the ability of the horse and sulky to negotiate a turn, since all the force is directed in a straight line Thus, the horse upon entering a turn at a high rate of speed tends to be forced ahead and toward the outside, and, at the same time, into a more level position even though the turn is banked. This contributes to the loss of distance, time and racing position
Attempts have been made to overcome the above-noted disadvantages of the conventional systems for hitching a horse to a sulky by using various ball-joint arrangements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,157, for example, discloses a coupling assembly for securing the shafts of a sulky to a saddle wherein a pair of coupling frames are secured to a saddle and are connected to the shafts through a coupling block having a ball-and-socket permitting rotational movement of the shaft relative to the saddle. Each coupling block is secured to a coupling frame by a coupling pin and cotter pin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,367 also discloses the use of a pair of ball joints in a device for joining the shafts of a sulky to the harness of a horse. U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,991 discloses a harness connector device wherein a pin secured to the harness fits into a first ball joint connected through a linking member to a second ball joint, which in turn is connected to a shaft.
The conventional systems described in the above-mentioned patents, however, do not satisfactorily solve the problems of fish-tailing and skidding. For example, the last-named harness connector has been investigated and been found by drivers to fail to provide a sense of integration between the horse, sulky and driver. This is because the inclusion of two ball joints destroys the ability of the connection to transmit any feeling of the horse's movements and thus the ability to control the horse while trotting or pacing at any appreciable speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,000 discloses a so-called "single-hitch" sulky utilizing a yoke which overlies and is attached to the saddle of a horse harness. In practice, such a yoke has been connected to the sulky shafts by longitudinally adjustable sleeves, the posterior ends of which fit over the front ends of the sulky shafts. Such sleeves may be adjustably fitted over the sulky shaft to vary the distance from this connection to the cart. This type of hitch, however, has been found to cause instability, in that the sulky has a tendency to tip over.
In co-pending application Ser. No. 264,658, filed Oct. 27, 1988, by M. Gaylord Boutelier there is disclosed a device for connecting a sulky shaft to a harness. A harness pin assembly is fixedly mounted on a harness saddle and the harness pin projects outwardly from the saddle at an angle of approximately 90'. A releasable locking device on the harness pin is positioned intermediate the saddle and the outer end of the pin. A connector assembly, for releasably connecting the harness pin assembly to the shaft, comprises a housing member which can be secured to the shaft by straps or the like. The housing member is provided with a ball-retaining aperture, and a ball member is rotatably secured in the ball-retaining aperture and is provided with a cylindrical aperture through the center thereof, the aperture having a diameter adapted to receive the harness pin. A collar member extends from opposite sides of the ball member so as to limit the rotation of the ball member in the housing. The locking device is adapted to permit the harness pin to be inserted into the cylindrical aperture past the locking device when the locking device is in an unlocked position and then lock the ball member on the harness pin when the harness pin is in a normally locked position.
Use of the above Boutelier device permits vastly improved times and performances, and previously difficult to handle horses have been observed to race more evenly when such a device is used. It has now been determined by tests on the track that the present invention provides still further improvements in sulky and harness design and performance, and use of the present invention enables the driver to have still further improved control and feel during a race.
An object of the present invention is a simple, easy to use device for connecting a shaft of a sulky to a harness saddle which further reduces, fish-tailing and skidding of the sulky on the track.
An additional object of the present invention is such a device enabling improved handling on the corner without binding the horse or sulky. A further object is such a device enabling better control in getting out of hole.
A still further object is such a device which permits the shaft-harness connection to be made closer to the horse's body and which may be used with sulky shafts better conforming to the horse's body.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment thereof and from the manufacture and use of the invention.